Police officer Dave Kranci orders a confused motorist to turn right onto Eighth Street from eastbound Market Street in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009. Taxis, buses, commercial vehicles and bicyclists are exempt in the six-week pilot program, which started today, and is designed to ease congestion on Market Street through the dense downtown core.

A toll collector speaks with a motorist while working at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, January 10, 2011.A toll collector speaks with a motorist while working at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, January 10, 2011.

Photo: Laura Morton, Special To The Chronicle

A toll collector speaks with a motorist while working at the Golden...

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Police officers direct traffic on eastbound Market Street to turn right at Sixth Street in San Francisco on Tuesday.

It looks as if tollbooths and toll collectors, a fixture at the Golden Gate Bridge since it opened in 1937, will no longer be used at the span starting in 2012 as the bridge district moves to an all-electronic system.

The Finance Committee of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District voted 8-3 Thursday to recommend the board of directors move ahead with the plan, which would save a projected $19.2 million over the first eight years. The board will consider the plan today at a 10 a.m. meeting at the administration building overlooking the toll plaza.

Directors John Moylanand Dick Grosboll of San Francisco and Gerald Cochranof Del Norte County voted against the proposal because of the impact on employees and the roles they play in bridge security, welcoming visitors to San Francisco and directing lost tourists. The move would eliminate the jobs of 32 toll collectors and two vault workers.

The bridge will move to a toll collection strategy that combines the existing FasTrak system with one that photographs the license plates of cars going through the toll plaza and mails a bill to the registered owners. About two-thirds of drivers pay their tolls with FasTrak.

The move to all-electronic tolling is part of a plan to help the district close an $89 million projected shortfall over the next five years.

- Michael Cabanatuan

So long, test run: It's been about 16 months since the experiment to push private cars off of eastbound Mid-Market Street - by requiring right turns - began. But now, it's about to become permanent.

The test began, with much fanfare, in September 2009, as a pet project of then-Mayor Gavin Newsom, who wanted to see if reducing private vehicles on Mid-Market could speed transit times and make it more pleasant for bike riders and pedestrians.

Initially, the forced right turns were required at Sixth and Eighth streets, where portable electronic message signs and traffic control officers were stationed. The signs remained, but the officers disappeared to reduce expenses. And the test zone was extended back to 10th Street.

Bicyclists, pedestrians and transit advocates have hailed the project, while merchants have complained that it's confusing and drives away customers.

A study by the agency, comparing September 2009 with September 2010, found that 80 percent of private vehicles heeded the requirement, bicycling increased significantly, transit travel times dropped by about 3 percent, and traffic increased on Mission Street but did not result in increased congestion.

The hearing will be held next Friday from 10 to 11 a.m. in Room 416 at City Hall.

- Michael Cabanatuan

Love at the library: Book-loving singles could find themselves on the same page as a potential mate this Valentine's Day.

Step two is bringing a favorite, most loathed or just plain want-to-talk-about-it book for the icebreaker.

Participants will have four to five minutes to talk before rotating to another author or genre.

Both two-hour speed dating events, one Tuesday for straight book lovers and another Wednesday for LGBT book lovers, are meant to change people's impression of the library, said librarian Donya Drummond.

"There's a stereotype of the library that it's stifled, academic, that you go there to be quiet and study," she said. "In fact, we have a lot of programs here that are a lot of fun."

For the time being, those who don't make it off the wait list can sign up for the library's Feb. 9 workshop on how to write a dynamic online dating profile.